Family Law

• Guardianship

Criminal Law

• Wrongful Death
  Lead trial counsel for defendant-Hospital and its pharmacy in wrongful death action by family of an elderly female patient who was admitted to hospital with atrial fibrillation and congestive heart failure. The patient received overlapping doses of the anticoagulants, Pradaxa and Lovenox, as stroke prophylaxis with the plan to discontinue Lovenox once Pradaxa was at therapeutic levels; however, after two days of therapy the patient developed an abdominal bleed that could not be stopped and she died. The medical review panel returned an unfavorable opinion. The allegations against the Hospital included negligent failure by the nurses to discover the bleed sooner, negligent failure of the nurses to notify the physician of the bleed in a timely manner, pharmacy negligence in permitting the use of both anticoagulants simultaneously, and negligent failure of the pharmacy to warn the defendant-physician about the risk of a significant bleed in using the medications together. After six days of testimony, the jury returned a verdict for the defendant-Hospital and defendant-physician in less than two hours.
• Fraud
  Eichhorn & Eichhorn, LLP’s client was an Indiana attorney who served as one of three co-counsel for a doctor who pled guilty to Medicare fraud charges in a Texas federal district court. The attorney was sued by the plaintiff for failing to timely inform him when the primary handling attorney was himself criminally charged. According to the plaintiff, this misconduct by the primary handling attorney included stealing money from the plaintiff. The plaintiff also claimed that he would not have pled guilty had he known of the misdeeds of the primary handling attorney. The trial court in the legal malpractice case granted summary judgment to Eichhorn & Eichhorn’s client on the basis that the plaintiff was collaterally estopped from pursuing his claim by: 1) the plaintiff’s own guilty plea; and 2) the judgment findings made by the Texas federal district court that: a) the plaintiff was adequately represented in determining to plead guilty; and b) it would have been unreasonable for him to refuse the plea offer and go to trial. The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s entry of summary judgment for Eichhorn & Eichhorn’s client. The Court of Appeals first noted that the plaintiff had not demonstrated that any of the claimed misconduct on the part of the primary handling attorney either occurred or induced him to plead guilty in some fashion. The Court of Appeals also rejected the plaintiff’s claim that he should be allowed to avoid collateral estoppel under these circumstances. Finally, the Court of Appeals found that, while the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals had allowed the plaintiff to pursue a limited appeal of the findings of the Texas District Court, that limited appeal was not material to the aforementioned findings as to which the plaintiff was collaterally estopped.
• Burglary
  Partners David Beach and John McCrum successfully defended two Hammond Police officers involved in the apprehension and arrest of a burglar in a four-day jury trial which resulted in a verdict for the defendants. The two officers arrested Mitchell Alicea after he burglarized a family’s home in north Hammond. One of the officers used a K-9, Leo, to track Alicea to an empty, above-ground swimming pool, where Alicea was found hiding with his hands in his jacket pockets. Despite multiple orders to show his hands, Alicea refused, at which point Leo was ordered to apprehend him. After the arrest, Alicea was convicted of burglary and sentenced to a term of years at Westville Correctional Center. While in prison, Alicea sued the officers for excessive force related to the dog bite he sustained to his forearm, which caused permanent nerve damage. At trial, he asserted that when confronted in the pool he voluntarily surrendered, but that the officer nonetheless sent the dog after him. After retiring to deliberate, the jury reached its verdict for the defendant officers within a matter of minutes.

Business and Corporate Law

• Corporate Law
• Business Disputes

Employment Law

• Workers Compensation
• Wrongful Termination
• Employment Discrimination
• Employment Contract
  Eichhorn & Eichhorn, LLP assisted in defending an action by a former employee against her employer for defamation and breach of contract. The defamation claim failed because the statements about the employee's appearance fit none of the required categories to constitute defamation per se and were not capable of objective verification and, therefore, could not be defamation per quod. Further, the breach of contract claim failed because there was no written contract and she did not give independent consideration for an employment contract by giving up any alternative employment based on a promise of permanent employment.
• Employment Litigation
• Sexual Harassment
  The vigorously contested action included claims of sexual harassment and hostile work environment arising from a physical encounter between a female HPD officer and a male HPD officer in October of 2016. Plaintiff has appealed the decision to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

Property Law

• Premises Liability
  An Indiana Law Firm was sued by a former client who claimed that the firm had agreed to pursue a second premises liability claim on her behalf, which they denied. This second claim was not filed within the statute of limitations and the former client claimed attorney malpractice. The court granted the defendants' summary judgment, the plaintiff appealed.
• Construction Litigation
• Land Use and Zoning

Health Law

• Medical Malpractice
  Our senior partner, David C. Jensen, has been recognized as one of Indiana's Top Rated Lawyers in Professional Liability litigation.  Alyssa Stamatakos has been recognized as one of Indiana's Top Rated Lawyers in Medical Malpractice litigation.  Eichhorn & Eichhorn, LLP attorneys defend all types of professionals and entities involved in professional malpractice claims, including physicians, dentists, attorneys, accountants, insurance agents, and others. We also represent physicians, dentists, and attorneys involved in disciplinary proceedings, and counsel health care providers requiring legal assistance with licensing and credentialing issues.

Trusts and Estates

• Estate Planning
  Estate planning is something that all of us know we need to take care of, but for many different reasons most of us don’t – we just don’t.  Yet, thoughtful estate planning addresses many of life’s significant questions in an intentional way.
• Wills
• Trusts
  Proper estate planning not only addresses matters after death, but before death as well.  Powers of attorney, appointment of health care representatives, living will declarations, and revocable living trusts are powerful tools to ensure that our affairs are taken care of both while we are living and after we have passed away.
• Power of Attorney
• Probate